The prospect that we may see the end of AIDS in our lifetime has never been greater. Over the last decade, the global HIV & AIDS community has achieved stunning successes, including a steady decrease in new HIV cases, a massive scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and proof that treatment is prevention. As we begin the XIX International AIDS Conference, we are also excited by new scientific advances in prevention and treatment, such as Option B+ for prevention of maternal-to-child transmission (PMTCT). As new possibilities develop, we must also build on the successes of the last decade. Only by "turning the tide together" through the simultaneous pursuit of new possibilities, leveraging of proven interventions for scale and sustainability, and strengthening of health systems overall, can we hope to reach our goal of ending the HIV & AIDS epidemic.

The conference is taking place in the USA for the first time in 20 years thanks to President Obama’s lifting of the travel ban on HIV-positive visitors.

“What has been PEPFAR’s strategic significance?”

An illustrious panel including Ambassador Eric Goosby (United States Global AIDS Coordinator), Ambassador Mark Dybul (former United States Global AIDS Coordinator), and Dr Anthony Fauci (Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID) discussed the first topic: “What has been PEPFAR’s strategic significance?”

Dr Fauci, who was one of the architects of PEPFAR, talked of the humanitarian and moral responsibility that George Bush felt. He mentioned an African male comment that “PEPFAR is the best thing that ever happened to Africa.”

Securing funds from donors and partners can be challenging for Nigerian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), given the nation’s large pool of competing organizations. In order to earn funds, NGOs must have strong proposal writing skills, the ability to defend their proposals, and efficient operational capacity.

CUBS also conducted a series of training and systems-strengthening exercises with GHARF and MSH provided follow-up technical assistance to build the organization's capacity and improve its status within Nigeria’s large pool of NGOs.

Stigmatized, isolated, and conditioned to undertake hard labor, 14 year-old Chinaecherem Nwodo shows that one can overcome the most dire circumstances. Chinaecherem was despised and accused of witchcraft in her community, the Onu-Orie-Obuno-Akpugo village in Nkano West Local Government, Enugu State, Nigeria. Her abusive treatment by community members reflected the challenges facing some children in rural areas of Nigeria.

The community blamed her for her mother’s death and father’s insanity. She was barely two years old when her mother died, and she was abandoned to the care of her sixty-three year-old maternal grandmother. As a teenager, she was traumatized and suffered intense malnourishment. To this day she looks like a 6 year-old girl, though her health has improved.

World TB Day, March 24th, was commemorated in many countries around the world last week to acknowledge the accomplishments made in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), and to call attention to the work that still needs to be done.

Voices of TB, a unique event organized by USAID, featured former TB patients speaking about their personal fight against TB. Survivors of TB from Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia and Vietnam --- four TB CARE I-supported countries --- and from the United States, spoke at the event on March 22 in Washington, D.C.

Yvonise is a good-natured 40-year-old woman with an easy smile. She is mother to four children: two boys and two girls. Her youngest, a little girl, is six years old.

Today, Yvonise sits patiently at the pharmacy of Hôpital Immaculée Conception de Port-de-Paix (HIC Port-de-Paix) in Haiti, waiting for Miss Sevrine, her caregiver, to provide her with a month’s supply of life-saving medicine.

Yvonise is one of 2,200 patients enrolled in the HIV/AIDS program at HIC Port-de-Paix. She was infected years ago with the AIDS virus, but her family does not know. Keeping her secret is a constant burden.

“I tell my kids that I have an infection for which I am being treated,” she said. This is how she justifies her monthly trips to the hospital.

Yvonise knows first hand how important it is for her to keep her appointments. “Since I’ve been coming to the clinic and taking my medication, I’ve been feeling more energetic,” she said, grinning from ear to ear.

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé gave an impassioned welcome speech remembering the last 30 years of AIDS and the 24 million African lives lost to the epidemic. He called for solidarity and compassion for the 34 million people currently living with HIV.